Recipe

Classic beef cannelloni

Serves 6 · Prep 30 min · Cook 60 min · 9×13 dish, 12 tubes

This is the Sunday-lunch benchmark: a thick, slow-simmered beef ragù piped into tubes, laid over tomato, blanketed in béchamel and baked until the corners bronze. Two details separate it from average versions — the ragù must be cooled and thick before filling, and the dish must bake covered first so the pasta softens before the top browns.

Ingredients

Ragù filling

• 500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef (or 400 g beef + 100 g pork)
• 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk — all finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 150 ml red wine (optional; replace with stock)
• 350 ml tomato passata (half the bottle below)
• Olive oil, salt, black pepper

Assembly

• 12 dried cannelloni tubes (~250 g) — or fresh sheets from our dough guide
• 350 ml tomato passata (the other half)
• Béchamel: 50 g butter, 50 g flour, 600 ml whole milk, grating of nutmeg
• 80 g Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated · 125 g mozzarella, torn

Method

1. Ragù (35 min). Sweat the diced vegetables in 2 tbsp oil over medium heat until soft, 8–10 minutes. Add garlic for 1 minute, then the beef, breaking it up and browning properly — let it sizzle, don’t stew it. Stir in tomato paste for 2 minutes, deglaze with wine, add 350 ml passata and simmer until thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a clear trail, 25–30 minutes. Season, then cool completely (spread on a tray to speed it up, or fridge 30 minutes).
2. Béchamel (10 min). Melt butter, whisk in flour and cook 2 minutes without coloring. Add milk in four additions, whisking each smooth. Simmer 3–4 minutes to a pourable coating consistency; season with salt and nutmeg.
3. Assemble. Spread the remaining passata over the base of a 9×13 dish. Pipe the cold ragù into the tubes (5 minutes with a decent piping bag; all methods in the filling guide) and arrange in one snug layer, seams down if using fresh sheets.
4. Top. Pour béchamel over every exposed surface — naked pasta is dry pasta. Scatter Parmigiano, then mozzarella.
5. Bake. 190°C / 375°F, middle rack: 25 minutes covered with foil, then 10–15 minutes uncovered until golden and bubbling at the center. Rest 10 minutes before serving — it slices instead of slumping.

The pan matters here

Twelve tubes fit a 9×13 with straight sides exactly; oval dishes strand the corner tubes above the sauce line, which is why they come out crunchy. If you’re buying a dish, our tested guide has picks from $20 up, including freezer-to-oven options.

Shop 9×13 baking dishes on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, cannelloni.net earns from qualifying purchases. We only recommend equipment we would use in our own kitchens, and recommendations are never influenced by commissions.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use jarred marinara instead of passata?

Yes — use about 700 ml of a good marinara and reduce the added salt, since jarred sauces come seasoned. Passata gives you more control, but the structure of the dish is unchanged.

Why does the ragù need to be cold before filling?

Cold ragù is thick enough to pipe and stays put; warm ragù is loose, leaks from the tube ends, and can make the piping bag seams fail. Thirty minutes in the fridge is enough.

Can I make beef cannelloni without béchamel?

You can substitute an extra cup of tomato sauce plus more mozzarella, but béchamel is what keeps the top layer of pasta supple and gives the dish its classic gratin finish. A quick 10-minute béchamel repays the effort.